Supersonics Still Have Kemp; First-Round Draft Pick Traded Seattle Not Willing To Make Long-Term Pact With Late Pick

For once, the Seattle SuperSonics heard a Shawn Kemp rumor they really liked.

TNT announcer Hubie Brown said midway through the sleepy NBA draft proceedings Wednesday that the Sonics had resolved the “Kemp situation” in the last few weeks.

“Maybe our prayers have been answered,” said Sonics coach George Karl wistfully upon hearing the comment.

But like much else that’s been aired regarding Kemp lately, that too was false, no more truthful than the pile of rumors of a blockbuster draft day deal involving Kemp, who has publicly demanded to be traded after a season of unhappiness.

Draft day came and went Wednesday with no trade, and the Sonics said calls regarding Kemp actually decreased the last few days as teams seemed to realize Seattle isn’t going to give away the disgruntled power forward to the first team that asks.

“It really cooled down,” said Wally Walker, the team’s president and general manager. “There wasn’t anything that we thought would be the least bit attractive.”

The Sonics did make a trade, but only to once again trade out of the first round and take three second-rounders, all of whom the team is high on, but none of whom figures to make much of an impact anytime soon.

The trade involved the Sonics drafting Minnesota point guard Bobby Jackson with the 23rd pick of the first round, then trading him to Denver for James Cotton, who the Nuggets had taken with the 33rd overall pick in the second round.

The Sonics then drafted Georgia Tech forward Ed Elisma with the 41st overall pick in the second round and Pittsburgh center Mark Blount with the 55th pick in the second round.

“I like all of these guys,” Karl said. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to play them. But I like them.”

Karl said it with a smile on his face, in part poking fun at his reputation for rarely playing rookies. But Karl said the draft excited him more than any since the Sonics grabbed Ervin Johnson in the first round in 1993.

It’s particularly exciting to Walker since the Sonics feel they got a first-rounder in Cotton for a second-round price.

In fact, the Sonics thought about drafting Cotton before making the deal with Denver, gambling that Cotton would still be there at 33 and feeling there were a couple of other players who would be worth having there if Cotton was taken.

The Sonics would likely have kept the 23rd pick if Bradley’s Anthony Parker, taken at 22, and Tennessee-Chattanooga’s Johnny Taylor, taken at 17, had still been available. In fact, the initial drafting of Jackson was a tipoff that a trade was ahead since the Sonics had said they weren’t going to draft a point guard.

By taking Cotton in the second-round, the Sonics don’t have to sign a first-rounder to a guaranteed three-year deal. The Sonics instead will likely sign Cotton to a one-year deal, saving salary cap room for the expected 1998 free-agent bonanza, when the Sonics figure to have a lot of room to pursue the likes of Kevin Garnett, Joe Smith and Antonio McDyess.

“We were able to save some cap room and get a guy who we are very happy to get with no guaranteed money,” said Billy McKinney, the team’s vice president for player personnel.

The Sonics hope the 6-foot-5 Cotton will be able to eventually work into a hired-gun role off the bench. He averaged 23.5 points a game last year as a junior at Long Beach State before declaring for the draft.

The 6-9 Elisma didn’t put up huge numbers at Georgia Tech (9.7 points, 8.2 rebounds last year as a senior) but drew the notice of NBA scouts when he averaged 17 points and 18 rebounds at a pre-draft tournament.